F-15 Grounding Strains U.S. Air Defenses

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By SCOTT LINDLAW (Associated Press Writer)

FRESNO, Calif. — The grounding of hundreds of F-15s because of dangerous structural defects is straining the nation's air defense network, forcing some states to rely on their neighbors' fighter jets for protection, and Alaska to depend on the Canadian military.

The F-15 is the sole fighter at many of the 16 or so "alert" sites around the country, where planes and pilots stand ready to take off at a moment's notice to intercept hijacked airliners, Cessnas that wander into protected airspace, and other threats.

The Air Force grounded about 450 F-15s after one of the fighters began to break apart in the air and crashed Nov. 2 in Missouri. An Air Force investigation found "possible fleet-wide airworthiness problems" because of defects in the metal rails that hold the fuselage together. It is not clear when the F-15s will be allowed to fly again.

The grounding includes Models A through D of the F-15, so the F-15E fighters stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro aren't affected, officials said.

Compounding the problem created by the grounding, another fighter jet used for homeland defense, the F-16, is in high demand for Iraq operations. And the next-generation fighter, the F-22 Raptor, is only slowly replacing the aging F-15.

Military officials say they moved quickly to patch any holes in the homeland air-defense system, and they report an increase in air defense sorties in the past month, using replacement F-16s. But they acknowledge difficulties.

"When you're filling in, obviously it's going to cause some strain," said Mike Strickler, a spokesman with North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, which is operated by the U.S. and Canada. "You're spreading resources a little thinner than we would like."

But air defenses have not been compromised, Strickler said. "We can be anywhere at any time," he said.

With the F-15s in Massachusetts out of commission, the Vermont Air National Guard is covering the whole Northeast. The Minnesota Air National Guard is manning sites in Hawaii. In Louisiana, the Illinois Air National Guard has been filling in.

And with Oregon's fighters grounded, the California Air National Guard is standing watch for the entire West Coast, an area of more than 300,000 square miles that is home to more than 46 million people in California, Oregon, Washington, and slices of Arizona and Nevada.

The California Air National Guard said this is first time in history that a single state's fighter wing is providing coverage for an entire coast.

The California Guard is keeping three alert sites - in Riverside and Fresno, California, and Portland, Oregon - equipped and staffed with pilots and mechanics.

"As a unit we're kind of stressed, but everyone's accepting this as a challenge and all the men and women of the unit are acting as professionally as you could ever hope for," said Col. Gary Taylor, operations group commander for the Fresno-based 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard.

The unit has had to borrow F-16s from bases in Indiana and Arizona and trim back training for certain overseas operations.

A relatively small number of F-15s - the model known as the F-15E Strike Eagle - were not found to have the structural problem, and are unaffected by the grounding.

For three weeks in November, Canadian CF-18s filled in for the F-15s over Alaska. Several times, the Canadian fighters scrambled to "do an identification" of Russian bombers flying exercises outside U.S. airspace near Alaska, said Maj. Mike Lagace, a Canadian military spokesman for NORAD.

PantherDec 27, 2007

"Please don't confuse Americans with Republicans. There are no similarities".I would include all politicians in this group. In my opinion their all liars cheats and thieves. The only thing that there interested in is power and money.

HumungousDec 27, 2007

OK everyone; yea, the 90's, Clinton, blah blah blah. The current administration has had the last seven years to correct any wrong-doing. And how's that going? Does the phrase, "not too good" ring a bell? Please don't confuse Americans with Republicans. There are no similarities.

hawk_fanDec 26, 2007

enolive, each troop had to pay $200. I guess it will be added to his check in January? He was also told not to wear his uniform (so as not to be a target). He, however, did have to carry his grenade launcher through the airport. I thought that would have been a bit unnerving to see. :-)

hawk_fanDec 26, 2007

BTW, those who are faulting past Presidents for military cuts ...I thought those cuts started with Reagan after the Cold War ended, and I think both political parties agreed to those cuts throughout the 90s, too. I think Clinton's administration also added much more technological "stuff" for the armed forces, too. I just wished that both political parties would agree to pay our troops better.

Evil oneDec 26, 2007

Flying commercial is nothing new for the military, especially when many are going from point a to point b. I find it interesting that he has to pay and be reimbursed, that doesn't make sense.

hawk_fanDec 26, 2007

enolive, you're more than likely right about the connection. However, I still think it odd that members of the air force don't have their own airplanes to transport troops. My brother in the navy used to take military hops all the time. (This was the 3rd time my nephew was required to fly commercial in 2007.)

Evil oneDec 26, 2007

My limited knowlege tells me one has nothing to do with the other. These are fighter aircraft with max seating of 2 and no cargo room unless you count bombs and missiles as luggage.

hawk_fanDec 26, 2007

Can anyone explain why my nephew, who is a member of the USAF, had to fly a commercial airline from a base in WA to a base in TX? He and 22 others had to pay for their tickets but were told the government will pay them back in 2008 (just before they head to Iraq). Thought this was strange and wondered if this news had anything to do with it. I don't know my planes.

Evil oneDec 26, 2007

I knew that, I made a bet that some nerd would come on and straighten me out in 15 minutes or less, you waited too long.

svaraj38758Dec 26, 2007

enolive...that was the Navy's F-14 Tomcat that Maverick "flew" in Top Gun.